"If Vingegaard is going to have any chance of beating Pogacar..." - Jonas Vingegaard warned against 2027 Giro defence amid fears over lost explosiveness
Cycling
Jonas Vingegaard has been warned against defending his Giro d'Italia title in 2027, with former professional Lars Bak fearing another Italian campaign could hamper his preparations to challenge Tadej Pogacar at the Tour de France. Bak suspects this year's Giro left the Dane with insufficient time to work on the explosive climbing efforts needed against his Slovenian rival.
Vingegaard dominated the Giro in May but struggled to follow Pogacar's attacks when the pair met again in France. Speaking on TV 2's Med schwung på podcast, Bak singled out their confrontation on the Col du Tourmalet.
"If Vingegaard is going to have any chance whatsoever of beating Pogacar, he needs to be more explosive," Bak said. "Vingegaard has to be able to follow Pogacar when the Slovenian attacks. We saw on the Tourmalet stage at this year's Tour de France that he was actually able to stay with Pogacar for quite a long time, but then suddenly he cracked."
Pogacar attacked with around 43 kilometres remaining on Stage 6, distancing Vingegaard on the Tourmalet before extending his advantage to two minutes and 38 seconds at the finish in Gavarnie-Gedre. The Dane was comfortably ahead of the other general classification contenders, with Isaac del Toro finishing third, another 19 seconds behind.
Before the Giro, Team Visma | Lease a Bike had suggested that racing in Italy could improve Vingegaard's condition for July. The Dane himself felt he had reached a higher level than the previous year after securing the maglia rosa.
Vingegaard won a first Giro d'Italia in 2026
Could Vingegaard afford another Giro before the 2027 Tour?
Vingegaard's victory in Italy was emphatic. He won five stages, finished 5 minutes and 22 seconds ahead of Felix Gall and became the eighth rider to win all three Grand Tours, adding the Giro to his two Tour de France titles and his 2025 Vuelta a Espana triumph.
In France, Pogacar had already established a lead of four minutes and 30 seconds when Vingegaard crashed out on Stage 15. The Dane was still second overall before suffering a fractured collarbone in the accident that ended his race.
"We also have to say that, before he abandoned, Vingegaard was already beaten by Pogacar as far as I'm concerned," Bak said. "He was still riding extremely well and was second overall at the Tour de France."
The newly unveiled 2027 Giro route offers seven uphill finishes, an uphill time trial and a final week featuring the Gavia, two ascents of the Mortirolo and Monte Zoncolan. Vingegaard would be returning as defending champion to a course with plenty of opportunities for the kind of sustained climbing efforts that brought him success in May.
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Sorensen convinced Vingegaard still believes he can beat Pogacar
"I think Vingegaard himself is the person who believes most strongly that he can beat Pogacar," former professional Rolf Sorensen said on Med schwung på. "He believes it 100 per cent, and he'll do everything necessary in his preparations."
Vingegaard defeated Pogacar at the Tour in both 2022 and 2023, winning the second of those editions by 7 minutes and 29 seconds. Since then, the Slovenian has won three consecutive Tours, with Vingegaard finishing runner-up in 2024 and 2025 before his premature withdrawal this summer.
The 2027 Tour features 71 kilometres of individual time trialling and mountain stages in both the Alps and Pyrenees, with the race beginning in Edinburgh on 2 July.
The Giro finishes in Rome on 30 May, leaving 33 days between the two Grand Tours. Neither Bak nor Sorensen expects Vingegaard to defend his Italian title, although Visma have yet to confirm his programme for next season.
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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